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Pearl: A New Verse Translation

by Simon Armitage
Liveright: Norton. Apr. 2016. 160p. ISBN 9780871407184. $24.95; ebk. ISBN 9781631491528. LIT
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Armitage (poetry, Univ. of Sheffield, UK), well-known for his translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, turns his skill to Pearl, another poem published in the same manuscript and possibly composed by the same anonymous author. Pearl tells the poignant tale of a man's grief over the loss of a young girl; he falls into a dream and is guided toward acceptance of death and hope for divine redemption. As the original Middle English text may be difficult for contemporary readers to grasp, Armitage's expert translation speaks to a modern audience with as little disturbance to the rhythm and structure of the original as possible. Divided into 20 sections, the 1,212-line poem in this edition has facing original text and is supplemented by helpful footnotes.
VERDICT Armitage successfully and exquisitely translates this classic poem, providing readers with a clear and complete version that honors the original. Recommended for readers of poetry and literature, particularly scholars of medieval English literature.
Reviewed by Jennifer Harris, Southern New Hampshire Univ. Lib., Manchester , Feb 15, 2016
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